Welding Aluminum Alloy 6061 with the
Opposing Dual-Torch GTAW Process
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
A modified welding system achieves good joint penetration and controlled heat
input with the gas tungsten arc process
ABSTRACT. Cracking is a major concern
in welding aluminum alloys. Although
weld solidification cracks can be elimi-
nated through the addition of filler metal,
the additives modify the alloy or base
metal constituents and may not always
be desirable. High-energy beam
processes, such as electron beam weld-
ing, that result in minimal heat input re-
duce crack sensitivity, but their high cost
limits their applications. In this study, the
conventional gas tungsten arc welding
process is modified by disconnecting the
workpiece from the power supply and
placing a second torch on the opposite
side of the workpiece. Such a modifica-
tion changes the direction of the current
flow, improves the weld penetration and
reduces the heat input. Using this modi-
fied process, 6061-T651 alloy was
welded without filler metals. Analysis
suggested the reduced heat input, the
changed direction of the current flow and
the symmetric heating were responsible
for the observed reduction of the crack-
ing sensitivity.
Introduction
Cracking is a major concern in weld-
ing aluminum alloys. This is due to the
relatively high thermal expansion of alu-
minum, the large change in volume upon
solidification and the wide solidification-
temperature range (Ref. 1). High heat in-
puts, resulting from high currents and
slow welding speeds, increase the ther-
mal stress, solidification shrinkage and
Y. M. ZHANG and S. B. ZHANG are with
Welding Research and Development Labora-
tory, Center for Robotics and Manufacturing
Systems, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Ky.
202-s | JUNE 1999
BY Y. M. ZHANG AND S. B. ZHANG
partially melted region, thus contributing
to both the weld solidification cracking
and HAZ liquation cracking. Although
weld solidification cracks can be effec-
tively controlled using selected filler
metal (Refs. 2–5), the additives modify
the alloy or base metal constituents and
may not always be desirable (Ref. 2).
High-energy beam processes reduce
the overall heat input. The high thermal
gradient from the weld into the base
metal creates limited metallurgical mod-
ifications and is least likely to cause in-
tergranular cracking in butt joints when
no filler metal is added (Ref. 1). The elec-
tron beam welding process can weld alu-
minum alloys without the addition of
filler metal (Refs. 1, 6, 7). However, due
to the strong reflection, laser welding of
aluminum alloys is less effective (Refs.
8–10).
The authors developed a new GTA
welding process that can increase the
weld penetration by using two torches on
the opposite sides of the workpiece and
connecting them to the power supply in
series (Refs. 11, 12). The connection be-
tween the power supply and the work-
piece in a conventional arc welding sys-
KEY WORDS
Gas Tungsten Arc
GTAW
Aluminum
Solidification Cracking
Dual Torch
HAZ
Heat Input
6061-T651
tem is removed. As a result, the welding
current flows from the power supply to a
torch, then through the work more or less
normally, then to another torch and fi-
nally returns to the power supply. Such a
current flow concentrates the arcs and
improves the weld penetration, thus re-
sulting in a reduction in the heat input.
This process may provide a method to
weld aluminum alloys without filler
metal and to generate positive effects on
productivity, cost and weld quality. In
this study, the dual-torch gas tungsten arc
welding (GTAW) process will be used for
welding aluminum.
Experimental Procedure
Figure 1 illustrates the configuration
of the experimental system used to per-
form the proposed arc welding method,
referred to as opposing dual-torch gas
tungsten arc welding (ODT-GTAW). The
two terminals of the square wave, con-
stant current, AC power supply were
connected to two regular GTAW torches.
The polarity ratio was 15 ms to 15 ms.
The maximum current of the power sup-
ply is 150 A at the arc voltage of 50 V.
Due to its popularity and high crack
sensitivity, 6061 aluminum alloy was
used as test material. Test plates 6.4 mm
and 9.5 mm thick, 6061-T651, 50 mm in
width and 250 mm in length, were em-
ployed. Uphill (vertical) welds were
made in butt joints with a shielding gas
of pure argon from both sides at the flow
rate of 12 L/min. The plates were
clamped during welding.
For comparison, AC GTAW was also
conducted. The polarity ratio and the
flow rate of the shielding gas (argon) were
also 15 ms to 15 ms and 12 L/min, re-
spectively.

Fig. 1 — Experimental setup.
Experimental Results
Experimental results showed, al-
though no filler metal was added, ODT-
GTAW made no cracks — Figs. 2 and 3.
However, regular AC GTAW made
cracks. Figure 4 shows the weld face ap-
pearance of the welds made using the
two different methods.
Experiments also showed that the
ODT-GTAW process improved the weld
penetration. It is known that in order to
weld 3.2-mm-thick aluminum plates,
regular AC GTAW needs one to two
passes with 110–140 A current and 4
mm/s welding speed (Ref. 1). For 6.4-
mm-thick plates, two passes are needed
at 200–240 A current and 3–4 mm/s
welding speed (Ref. 1). As can be seen in
Fig. 2, ODT-GTAW significantly pene-
trates 6.4-mm-thick plates in a single
pass with 145 A current and 7.5 mm/s
welding speed. For 9.5-mm-thick plates,
with preheating to 177°C (350°F), regu-
lar AC GTAW needs three passes at
260–300 A current and 3–4 mm/s weld-
ing speed. For the ODT-GTAW, 9.5-mm-
thick plates can be sufficiently pene-
trated in a single pass with 150 A current
at a welding speed of 2 mm/s, without
preheating. The improvement in the
weld penetration is quite significant. Due
to the improvement in the weld penetra-
tion capability, the heat input and fusion
zone are reduced. Lower heat input and
no preheat decrease the width of the
HAZ (Ref. 1). Such decreases should help
increase the weld strengths for 6061 al-
loys and other aluminum alloys (Ref. 1).
A
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
B
Table 1 gives the test results
for the mechanical properties
of the welds made using ODT- C
GTAW. The samples were
tested as welded. The results
are average readings from
three samples for each condi-
tion. It can be seen that when
the welding speed is 4.2 or 6
mm/s, the ultimate strength of
the ODT-GTA welds is 199
MPa or higher, slightly better
than that of the regular gas
shielded arc welds (186 MPa
or higher, Ref. 1). Also, the
joint ductility measured over a
50.8-mm gauge length (12.4%
Fig. 2 — Cross-sectional photos of double-sided arc welds
or higher) is better than that of
in butt joints. Thickness 6.4 mm, material 6061-T651,
the regular gas shielded arc
welding current 145 A, arc voltage 47 V. A — Welding
welds (8% or higher, Ref. 1), al-
speed 4.2 mm/s; B — welding speed 6 mm/s; C — weld-
though the yield strength (103
ing speed 7.5 mm/s.
MPa) is lower than that of the
regular gas shielded arc welds
(124 MPa or higher, Ref. 1).
Furthermore, the mechanical creases, porosity in the weld will in-
properties of the ODT-GTA welds are in- crease and the resultant strength de-
dependent of filler metals. Hence, when grades (Table 1). For aluminum welding,
the welding speed is appropriate — 4.2 the recommended maximum welding
or 6 mm/s in the experiments — the speed is 5 mm/s (Ref. 1). Hence, the
ODT-GTAW process demonstrates some welding speed associated with ODT-
characteristics that may better meet GTAW is acceptable.
some particular requirements. When the
welding speed is 7.5 mm/s, porosity is Discussion
increased and the resultant weld
strength is reduced. Experimental results reveal that the
Test results reveal that ODT-GTAW proposed ODT-GTAW method is a po-
can achieve acceptable mechanical tential arc welding process to weld 6061
strengths if the welding speed is 4 to 6 alloy, and possibly other aluminum al-
mm/s. When the welding speed in- loys, without filler metal. To understand
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT | 203-s
 the principle of the proposed
approach, the process and its
mechanism in reducing the
crack sensitivity should be dis-
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
It is known that the current is sub-
jected to electric field force Fe caused by
the difference of the electric potential be-
tween the electrode and work and elec-

cussed. tromagnetic force Fm (Fig. 5A) in the arc

length area. These two forces can be cal-
Process culated using the following equations
(Refs. 14, 15):
The majority of the welding  Fe = qE
current in regular arc welding, 
such as in plasma arc welding  Fm = J × B (1)
(Ref. 13), grounds through the where q is the charge of the particle con-
top surface of the base metal. In sidered, E is electric field strength vector,
the proposed method, the J is current density vector and B is mag-
welding current is through the netic flux density vector. Fe has two
Fig. 3 — Cross-sectional photo of double-sided arc weld in workpiece — Fig. 5. Such a dif- components, fe(x) and fe(y). Component
a butt joint on thick plate. Thickness 9.5 mm, material ference in the direction of the fe(x), along the x direction, diverges the
6061-T651, welding current 150 A, welding speed 2 mm/s, welding current generates a dif- current and increases when the current
arc voltage 48 V. ference in the resultant forces. approaches the work. Component fe(y)
along the y direction, accelerates the
particles in the plasma toward the work.
A For Fm , its component fm(x) along the x
direction concentrates the current, but
diminishes as the current reaches the
work. The component along the y direc-
tion, fm(y), also accelerates the particles in
the plasma toward the work.
In ODT-GTAW (Fig. 5B), the current
directly flows through the work. fe(x)
and fm(y) are zero or negligible. This re-
sults in fm(x), which converges the current
being increased to its maximum, while
the divergent force fe(x) is zero. Hence,
the current and the arc become much
B
more concentrated than in regular arc
welding.
For ODT-GTAW, the current in metal
is subjected to the same forces as in the
electrode-to-work distance due to its di-
rection — Fig. 5B. The electromagnetic
force will tend to converge the current,
thus driving the fluid flow toward the axis
of the current flow — Fig. 5B. Such flow
tends to deepen the penetration. Due to
the varying polarity, the direction of such
Fig. 4 — Weld face view of cracking of arc welds made using different processes. Material fluid flow is subjected to periodical
6061-T651, filler metal none. A — Double-sided arc weld; thickness 6.4 mm, welding cur- change. Such change may tend to gener-
rent 145 A, welding speed 6 mm/s, arc voltage 47 V, penetration full; B — AC GTA weld; ate a stirring effect in the weld pool.
thickness 6.4 mm, welding current 150 A, welding speed 2 mm/s, arc voltage 29 V, penetra- However, in regular arc welding, such a
tion partial. flow exists on the surface of the work-
piece, but not inside the base metal.
In the proposed approach, the two
arcs symmetrically heat the workpiece.
The symmetric heating decreases the
Table 1 — Test Results of Mechanical Properties for 6061-T651 Double-Sided Butt Joint Welds thermal distortion of the workpiece dur-
ing the welding. The reduced thermal
distortion should tend to decrease the
Welding Welding Ultimate Strength Yield Strength Elongation thermal stress.
Current Speed (percentage Failure
(A) (mm/s) ksi MPa ksi MPa for 2 in.) Location Crack Sensitivity
145 4.2 29.2 199 15.2 103 15.0 HAZ
145 6 29.5 201 16.4 112 12.4 HAZ Weld cracking in aluminum alloys
145 7.5 24.4 166 16.9 115 4.7 Weld(a) may be classified into two primary cate-
gories based on the mechanism respon-
(a) Porosity present.
sible for the cracking and the crack lo-
cation (Ref. 1). Solidification cracking
occurs within the weld zone and typi-

204-s | JUNE 1999

 A B
Fig. 5 — Forces acting on welding current. A — Regular GTAW; B — ODT-GTAW.
cally appears along the center of the
weld or at the termination craters (Ref.
1). Liquation cracks take place adjacent
to the fusion zone and may or may not
be readily apparent.
Solidification cracking occurs when
high levels of thermal stress and solidifi-
cation shrinkage are present when the
weld pool is undergoing solidification
(Ref. 1). Due to the high coefficient of
thermal expansion, the solidification
shrinkage of aluminum alloys is almost
twice that of ferrous alloys (Ref. 1). High
heat inputs melt large amounts of base
metal, thus intensifying the shrinkage. It
is the increase in penetration for a given
current that allows lower current and
therefore lower heat inputs to be used
with ODT-GTAW. For example, to weld
a 6.4-mm-thick aluminum workpiece,
the heat input into the workpiece in a
unit length along the weld joint IU/ν
should be less than 145 A x 2U0 / (7.5
mm / s) = 38.7 U0. Here I is the welding
current, ν is the welding speed and U is
the arc voltage of the two arcs that is ap-
proximately twice U0 , the arc voltage in
regular AC GTAW measured by volts. For
regular AC GTAW, the heat input into the
workpiece in a single pass is 200U0 / 3
= 66.7U0. (Two passes are needed to
weld a 6.4-mm-thick aluminum work-
piece by regular AC GTAW.) Hence, the
ODT-GTAW reduces the shrinkage, thus
positively contributing to the reduction
of solidification cracking sensitivity.
Due to the reduced heat input, the
thermal stress may decrease. Also, the
symmetrical heating associated with the
ODT-GTAW, which lowers the thermal
distortion, may help decrease the ther-
mal stress. The reduction in the thermal
stress can decrease the solidification
cracking sensitivity.
An important cause of the solidifica-
tion cracking is the wide range of the so-
lidification temperatures. The partial
melted state of the metals during solidi-
fication blocks the flow of the melted
metals. If the solidifying metals can be
shaken, the flow of the unsolidified met-
als and the heat transfer may be im-
proved. (We notice that magnetic stirring
has been generated to reduce cracking
sensitivity, Refs. 16–18.) In the proposed
approach, the electromagnetic force-dri-
ven flow acts in the neighborhood of the
central line of the weld and changes its
direction according to the polarity of the
AC welding current. Such a flow may
tend to shake the solidifying metals at a
frequency of the AC current. In our ex-
periments, the frequency of the AC cur-
rent is 33.3 Hz and is relatively high in
comparison with the thermal process.
Hence, the location and direction of the
AC current flow in the ODT-GTAW may
also be a factor that reduces the crack
sensitivity. However, further studies will
be needed in order to confirm this as-
sumption.
Conclusions
The proposed ODT-GTAW appears
capable of welding 6061 alloys without
addition of filler metals under conditions
used in this study. In addition to the re-
duction in the cracking sensitivity, the
ODT-GTAW process also provides some
other advantages, such as the reduction
in the number of the passes. However, to
actually apply the proposed ODT-GTAW
method, both sides of the workpiece
must be accessible.
Three possible causes have been as-
sumed to explain how the ODT-GTAW
reduces the cracking sensitivity. It is evi-
dent further studies must be conducted to
verify these causes.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Na-
tional Science Foundation (DMI-
9812981) and the Center for Robotics
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT | 205-s
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
and Manufacturing Systems at the Uni-
versity of Kentucky. The authors also
thank NASA Marshall Space Flight Cen-
ter, Huntsville, Ala.; The Lincoln Electric
Co., Cleveland, Ohio; and Thermal Arc,
Inc., Troy, Ohio, for technical input,
equipment and materials.
References
1. J. R. Davis (ed). 1994. ASM Specialty
Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys,
ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio.
2. Dudas, J. H., and Collins, F. R. 1966.
Preventing weld cracks in high-strength alu-
minum alloys. Welding Journal 45(6): 241-s to
249-s.
3. Kim, H. T., Nam, S. W., and Hwang, S.
H. 1996. Study on the solidification cracking
behavior of high strength aluminum alloy
welds: effects of alloying elements and solidi-
fication behaviors. Journal of Materials Sci-
ence, Vol. 31, pp. 2859–2864.
4. Nakata, K., et al. 1994. Improvement of
weld solidification crack susceptibility of Al-
Zn-Mg ternary alloy by low frequency pulsed
GMA with Zr added Al-high Mg welding wire.
Yosetsu Gakkai Ronbunshu/Quarterly Journal
of the Japan Welding Society 12(1): 108–114.
5. Katoh, M., and Kerr, H. W. 1986. Inves-
tigation of heat affected-zone cracking of
GMA welds of Al-Mg-Si alloys using the vare-
straint test. Proceeding of the International
Conference on Trends in Welding Research,
pp. 759–761, ASM International, Materials
Park, Ohio.
6. Tosto, S., Nenci, F., and Hu, J. 1996. Mi-
crostructure and properties of electron beam
welded and post-welded 2219 aluminum
alloy. Materials Science and Technology, Vol.
12, pp. 323–328.
7. Matsuda, F., and Nakata, K. 1982. New
self-restrained solidification crack susceptibil-
ity test for electron-beam welding of alu-
minum alloy-taper-shaped hot cracking test.
Transactions of JWRI 11(1): 141–143.
8. Guitterz, L. A., Neye, G., and Zschech,
E. 1996. Microstructure, hardness profile and
 tensile strength in welding of 6013 T6 extru-
sions. Welding Journal 75(4): 115–121.
9. Belforte, D. A. 1993. Laser materials
processing — the next generation of applica-
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT/RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
posed torches. U.S. patent application, S. N. electric arc welding of thin-walled construc-
9,049,191. tions made of aluminum alloys by means of
13. Dowden, J., Kapadia, P., and Fenn, B. magnetic stirring. Svarochnoe Proizvodstvo,
1993. Space change in plasma arc welding No. 6, p. 16.

tion. Proc. 5th International Conference on
Welding and Melting by Electron and Laser
Beams, pp. 1–11, La Baule, France.
10. Mehmetli, B. A. 1996. Direct mea-
surement of reflectance from aluminum alloys
during CO2 laser welding. Applied Optics
35(18): 3237–3242.
11. Zhang, Y. M., and Zhang, S. B. 1998.
Double-sided arc welding increases weld joint
penetration. Welding Journal 77(6): 57–61.
12. Zhang, Y. M., and Zhang, S. B. 1998.
Method of arc welding using dual serial op-
and cutting. Journal of Physics (D): Applied
Physics, Vol. 26, pp. 1215–1223.
14. Lancaster, J. F. 1986. The Physics of
Welding, 2nd edition, International Institute of
Welding, Pergamon Press, Oxford, U.K.
15. Cao, Z. N., Zhang, Y. M., and Kovace-
vic, R. 1998. Numerical transition analysis of
GTA weld pools. ASME Journal of Manufac-
turing Science and Engineering 120(1):
173–178.
16. Novikov, O. M. 1992. Efficient method
for prevention of weld cracking during gas-
17. Kou, S., and Le, Y. 1985. Alternating
grain orientation and weld solidification
cracking. Metall Trans A 16(10): 1887–1896.
18. Ohmae, T., Wakamoto, I., and Na-
gareda, M. 1985. Study on high quality weld-
ing process by magnetic stirring. Yosetsu
Gakkai Ronbunshu Japan Welding Society—
National Meeting Spring 3(1): 117–123.

Call for Presentations at TPA’s

Stainless Steel Tube & Pipe
Producing Conference

Rockford, Ill. The Tube and Pipe Association, International (TPA), is currently accepting sub-
missions to present technical papers at the Stainless Steel Tube & Pipe Producing Conference
to be held February 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

All material presented must be free of commercialism and should pertain specifically to the
production of stainless steel tube and pipe. Presentations addressing forecasting/trends, quality
control, coating, material handling, welding, new applications and case studies are of special
interest.

To request a speaker application, contact TPA customer service at 815-399-8775, or e-mail

info@tpatube.org. Application deadline is September 1, 1999.

The Tube & Pipe Association, International, is the leading educational association serving the
metal tube and pipe fabricating industry. TPA offers technical conferences, expositions,
industry publications such as TPJ — The Tube & Pipe Journal®, a technical research library, in-
dustry wage surveys, networking opportunities and much more. For more information, contact
TPA at 815-399-8775 or fax 815-399-7679 (USA).

206-s | JUNE 1999